USW Endorses Hillary Clinton

(PITTSBURGH) – The United Steelworkers (USW), in conjunction with the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) and the Glass Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union (GMP), issued the following statement today endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States:

“Given her vast experience both with foreign and domestic policy, Hillary Clinton is a supremely qualified candidate, one of the most qualified candidates ever to seek the presidency,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “These unique qualifications give her the vision and commitment necessary to continue to lead this country forward.

“The USW has watched intently as both parties have conducted their primaries. We’ve known for some time that either of the Democratic candidates would be far superior to any Republican on the vast majority of issues important to workers and their families.

“Now that it has become clear who the two major nominees will be in November, we are excited to put our full support behind electing Secretary Clinton the next president of the United States.”

“On virtually every issue, Secretary Clinton stands with working Americans and their families,” said UWUA President Mike Langford. “Specifically, she has a plan to harness public and private capital to upgrade and repair our nation’s roads, bridges, energy and water infrastructure, expand public transportation, and bring our schools and our communications networks fully into the 21st century. These critical investments will grow our economy by creating and maintaining good jobs, raising wages and rebuilding struggling communities.”

“Secretary Clinton has promised to fight for fair, not just free trade, and has vowed to oppose the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),” said Gerard. “She will fight for collective bargaining rights and labor protections, as well as high standards for domestic sourcing and ‘Buy American’ laws.

“Secretary Clinton believes in raising the minimum wage, which will not only improve the lives of millions of low-wage workers, but in fact lift the standard for all working Americans. She supports tax relief to help struggling families. She is committed to closing tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy to make sure every American pays their fair share.

“A Clinton administration will ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work -- something Donald Trump opposes -- and make sure parents have access to paid family leave and sick time, as well as quality, affordable child care.”

“Secretary Clinton believes that all Americans have the right to retire with dignity,” said Bruce Smith, GMP President. “She will work hard to strengthen and expand Social Security and Medicare. She will fight to expand access to care and protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from those who seek to return to a time when tens of millions of Americans had no access to medical care outside of the emergency room.”

“Like Secretary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also been a lifelong supporter of working Americans, and he has run a strong, principled campaign that has raised awareness of critical issues and energized millions of Americans,” said Gerard. “He clearly sees how corporate-fed Republican economics fatten the coffers of Wall Street, while denying young people and families the opportunities they deserve.

“The USW salutes Sen. Sanders’ lifelong commitment to social and economic justice. He and his supporters must play a vital role in pushing the issues he raised and that his supporters are so passionately fighting for. They must continue to be front and center in this campaign, and we need them to continue to push Sanders’ agenda and have their voices heard on Election Day and beyond. We must work together to defeat Trump.

“By contrast, Secretary Clinton’s Republican opponent has seemingly worked at every turn to divide Americans along lines of race, ethnicity and gender with his racist, sexist and xenophobic statements.

“Besides just his dangerous and un-American rhetoric, Trump has consistently proven to be on the side of the wealthy and powerful, rather than on the side of working people. Trump believes workers’ wages are too high and supports union-busting legislation. His tax plan would benefit millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the middle class. He supports efforts to repeal the ACA but has no concrete plan to replace it.

“Nothing better exemplifies Trump’s say-one-thing-do-another approach to the plight of workers than his treatment of the 500 hotel workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas who voted last December to join the Culinary Workers Union. Trump refuses to bargain with them, even after more than a dozen objections filed with the NLRB were either withdrawn or dismissed, and the union was certified as a bargaining agent.

“On the one issue on which workers might agree with Trump, trade, he has proven himself a hypocrite. He criticizes companies for moving production overseas while his own signature line of clothing is produced in low-wage countries like China, Mexico, Honduras and Bangladesh. He just can’t be trusted.

“Simply put, Hillary Clinton is the best chance for working Americans to build on the progress we have made over the past eight years. She has the experience and the ideas to lead our country to a brighter future, and we enthusiastically support her candidacy for the presidency.”

The USW, UWUA and the GMP represent more than 1.3 million active and retired workers in North America.

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